The Big White Elephant in the Room - the Portrayal of Sportswomen in the Media

Are you coming over to Europe? I’m in London now….I could do with some help covering this damn Giro….you write so well :-) Congrats on the wins BTW….would love to race you one day.

your pics remind me of Rosie.

This is a difficult subject. Women’s cycling is a small sport that gets very little media coverage. Certain riders, like Liz Hatch, are better known for their physique than for their athletic achievements. Yet they draw a lot of attention to the sport. Perhaps not the right kind of attention, but any media coverage can help convincing sponsors and helping the sport growing. At the same time we do not want to see cycling becoming some sort of beach volleyball, a sport that’s only about T&A. And though many people now Liz hatch, few know she can ride a bike fast too. Very complex debate IMO.
I don’t want to be negative about Liz Hatch too. I understand she loves cycling and uses both her physical and athletic strengths in the best interest of the sport.

BTW Who’s the hottie in those last two pics?

Attractive and a great athlete. I wouldn’t say the pics here make both sides of that case, though. It’s a personal decision, bottom line. And sure, I enjoy looking at fit, classically ‘sexy’ women (yes, I’m a lesbian), but that doesn’t mean they have to take their clothes off. I think of Lindsey Vonn. Did she look great in SI? Yes. Does she look great every time she’s on a mountain? Yes. But I understand that if every female athlete waited until she was as well-known as Vonn to strut her stuff, she’d probably be waiting so long there’d be no stuff left to strut :p So it’s tough to say. I go back to “it’s a personal decision.”

The black and white bike mechanic photo is by far my fav of the bunch above. Very nice.

When is a right time, if any, to pose for men’s magazines and do ‘raunchy’ shoots like many of the women in the cycling world have already done? Do you think it is appropriate? Does it detract emphasis on their athletic achievements, and therefore do these women more harm than good?

When is it right for the men to do the same?

Ok, haven’t read the full report yet, but the helicopter pitch seems to say this:

The gender stereotyping in press and television coverage of female athletes was minimal, with reporting focussed on the performances and results rather than their looks, sexuality or emotions.

So is the problem the ASC report identifies one of trivialising women’s sport or one of simply ignoring it?

I guess on the one hand, there are riders like Rochelle Gilmore, who I’m sure makes every decision with a lot of thought, and doesn’t do things she’s not happy or comfortable with – and of course, it’s her choice. There’s no way in the world I can see her being pushed into the recent “naked but for pants and a load of inner tubes” shots. I mean, she has all those achievements in cycling, business, with her team management etc – I’m sure she knows exactly what she’s doing!

But. And it’s a huge but, and there’s no way round this… It does drive me crazy that these pictures get a lot more media splash than the amazing cycling achievements of riders. I remember a few years back, the shots of a Belgian paper having a teeny article about a women’s race, illustrated with a giant pic of Liz Hatch semidressed. It’s that what makes me so angry – that so much media will only feature the women with T&A shots. I know, I know, they’re pretty and lovely, and people like looking at them – but the messages it sends, about how it’s much better to be an attractive (albeit super-committed) domestique than eg Marianne Vos or Emma Johansson or Giorgia Bronzini (who are pretty, just without the “sexy” shots)….

There’s so much to unpick here – I’m probably not explaining myself well – and of course, women’s cycling is massively underfunded, so if some riders take the opportunity to make some money – and show off their incredible bodies, which they’ve worked bloody hard to get – then of course that’s their choice. But in the UK, at least, it feels like while the rest of the media ignores the women’s sport (with a couple of honourable exceptions) it’s a shame that taking off clothes still gets the attention.

Personally, I have political issues with things like “The Girls of the Playboy Mansion” or Katie Price/Jordan being presented as good role models for girls (a mate at work was talking about how her daughter wanted a huge amount of Playboy themed stuff for her 14th birthday – including bunny t-shirts etc) – and football WAGs getting FAR more media attention than women footballers, or actually any women athletes – the whole media message that girls’ and women’s achievements are secondary to how they look.

I guess the difference is that if the blokes take off their kit, or do the Fränk Schleck soulful b&w half-naked adverts, they’re doing it in the context of having their achievements always respected and presented first, and I wish it was the same for the women.

Oh, and I absolutely respect your decision Miffy, and completely agree. Go Miffy!

did a quick search: Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy!

But you’re obviously a strong young woman. I’m sure you’ll choose what’s right for you and it’s up to the rest of us to respect your decision.

    If you ever do choose to get “raunchy” or anything like that, do it on your own terms.
    I think you have excellent communication skills that will always help you to be able to connect with fans and people who might not be fans, yet. Please don’t do it just for the attention, you can post something here and we will be happy to pay attention to you. :-)

between trying to raise your public profile while only doing what you feel is appropriate. i don’t think there’s a common answer for everyone. some women, regardless of their athlete status, seem to like the whole dress up pretty and take sexy pictures thing. i remember reading an article on Willow Koerber where she talked about how she liked to feel/dress/be seen as sexy. If her skills on the bike give her opportunities to do things she wouldn’t otherwise get, I say go for it. I think the problem starts when women feel the need to do sexy photo shoots to keep up, be it keeping up with other sports (dude cycling, for example) or other women within the sport. As long as the women get to make the decision of whether or not to do sexy photo shoots, and have control over how it’s done and distributed, i will continue to enjoy the end product. if young women coming up in the sport feel like it’s something they have to do to keep up with the joneses, then we have a problem.

speaking more specifically about your pics, i like what you’ve done much better than the cycle passion pics (not that there’s anything wrong with those. not a thing.). good looking girls in lingerie is nice, but it’s done everywhere and isn’t too bike specific. I like it better when bikes are involved in the pics, when there’s some level of grittiness, dirt, and sweat. to me that is cycling. throw in a hot girl who actually rides, and you’ve got sexy cycling, which is a lot better than plain old sexy. and is a nice addition to plain old cycling.

yes there are girls who only make money by looking good (Anna – never won a tournament- Kournikova comes to mind). But the media tend to focus most on the best athletes in the sport, wether they’re hot or not.

They’re super cool. The top one, the mech shot, is super cute and fun and appealing. I like what you did there, for sure.

it’s definitely hard to decide how to present yourself, and I think it’s something that certainly would change over time, too.

Some interesting comments here, thanks for sharing your photos :)

that most (all?) of the raunchy photos are airbrushed – you don’t see the scars on elbows, hips and knees that all top level cyclists get from their close association with the pavement.